Choices
by bulletproof trucker hats
Summary: Takes place during, after, volume six, reincarnation 67, of SK, and it's kind of AU, post-series YYH. I suck at summaries, so just read it, please!
1. Chapter 1

_I know, I know. I should be working on _Similarities_. But, I was reading my collection of Shaman King manga, and I found out what Manta's mother's name is. _

_KEIKO. Her name is Keiko. _

_And, I thought…'Hmmm…there's a Keiko in Yu Yu Hakusho…there's a Keiko in Shaman King…CROSSOVER!'_

_Soooo….yeah. Here ya go. And the next chapter of _Similarities_ will be out shortly.

* * *

_

Keiko Oyamanda, formerly Yukimura, sat in the waiting room of the hospital, waiting for her son to get out of physical therapy. She was worried, exasperated, and a little angry. This was _exactly_ why she had married Mansumi. To keep her children safe. Her _old_ life was just _too_ dangerous. _That_ was why she had broken up with-

"Keiko-chan?"

Keiko looked up, to see a handsome man, with striking green eyes and short, red hair. It had been longer when she'd known him, but it _had_ to be…

"Kurama-san?"

He didn't smile. "It's been quite a while." she said, feeling rather awkward. "Nineteen years." he replied. "You cut your hair." she commented. "When Mother died." he said. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know." she murmured.

"Of course you didn't." he said coldly. "You weren't there. You left."

Manta walked out of physical therapy, to see his mother talking with an unfamiliar, red-headed man. The man's emerald gaze flickered over him, and Manta shuddered. He _couldn't_ be a ghost- as evidenced by the fact that his mother could _obviously_ see him- but the short, hysterical boy's sixth sense was registering an _overwhelming_ feeling of…_otherness_.

"He's yours?" the man asked. Manta's mother gave a curt nod. "The eldest." "And yet…he's probably more similar to _Yusuke_, than to that ningen you call 'husband'" The red-head's expression grew disgusted at the frightened look that crossed Keiko's face. "Oh, don't worry, he's the ningen's. And if you haven't realized what I meant about your child, _I_ certainly won't be the one to tell you….And I won't tell him I saw you, if that's what you were scared of."

Keiko looked relieved. "Kurama, thank-" "Don't." the man, now identified as Kurama, spat. "I'm not doing it for _you_."

Before she could reply, he turned and walked away. Brushing by Manta, he glanced down, and Manta could _swear_ that his eyes flashed gold.

"Kurama!" Keiko called after him. "What are you doing here?"

Kurama didn't even turn around. "Because Shizuru's here. And because _I_ don't abandon those I care for." He continued on his way, until he was out of sight.

"Mother…who _was _that?" Manta asked. When she finally answered, her reply seemed to come from far away.

"Hmmmm?…Oh, no one."

* * *

_Soooo. Read. Review. Tell me how much you love it. Tell me how much you hate it. Tell me what I can do to make it better_. _Tell me what you want to see in this fic._

_Oh, and it's going to be a multi-chapter, maybe...hmmm...five?...at the most._

_Goth Lolita  
_


	2. Chapter 2

Obviously, Keiko _knew_ her eldest child, for this statement was _perfectly_ designed not to pique his interest in the least.

Wait, no. That's not right.

So, as we all saw coming, Manta _had_ to investigate. It wasn't that hard to find the location of the room of a certain 'Kuwabara Shizuru' in this hospital. It _also_ wasn't that hard to escape his mother and actually _get _to said room.

What he found there was…_surprising_…to say the least.

"Damn it all, fox, you're never getting near me _again_." a woman's voice snarled from behind the door. "_You_ wanted children, Shizuru." a voice Manta recognized as Kurama- as his mother had called him- said calmly. "Yeah, but _this_ sucks! I can't _drink_, I can't _smoke_, and I get these freaking _cravings_!…Hey, speaking of, Kazuma, go get me some inarizushi. With wasabi. And pickles." "Sis, are you sure-" a new voice, male and gravelly, was cut off by Shizuru's barked order. "Go! Now!"

The door swung open, and a carrot-topped man lumbered out. "She forgot to mention the _mood-swings_…" he muttered.

"Manta! _What_ are you _doing_?" His mother's scandalized voice made both Manta, and the red-haired Kazuma jump and turn to face her.

"Sorry, Mom." Manta apologized, head bowed.

Kazuma, on the other hand, looked like he'd seen a ghost. Well, perhaps that's not the best terminology, considering Manta _actually_ sees ghosts, but you get my drift. "_Keiko_? What're _you_ doin' here?" Keiko's head jerked upright, her eyes wide and deer-in-the-headlight-ish. "_Kuwabara_? What are _you_- Oh, right, Shizuru. Of course." Kuwabara grinned at her goofily. "Yup! I'm gonna be an _uncle_!…But, wait a minute- you never answered my question. What _are_ you doin' here?"

Keiko's expression became shuttered. "My son. He was mugged. I don't suppose _you_ know anything about _that_, hmmm, Kuwabara?"

The man looked genuinely confused. "Noooo, I'm at the college now." "Oh, you're _still _working on that? Well, don't worry, I'm sure-" "Keiko, I'm a _professor_ at the college." He looked _pissed_ at her shocked expression. "What, you though nothing would change? Newsflash, Keiko. While _you_ were breakin' Urameshi's heart, _we_ all moved _on_ with our lives. Now, if you'll excuse me, _I _have to go get my sister inarizushi. With wasabi. And pickles."


End file.
